Drudge (Conduit)
The Drudge are a race of progenitor-human hybrids created from the genetic makeup of Prometheus. They were initially thought to be a race of extraterrestrial beings that were invading Washington, D.C. for unknown reasons during the events of The Conduit. During the events of Conduit 2, some Drudge, known as Free Drudge, break away from and rebel against Trust control, forming their own language, culture and society. History After failing to create progenitor-human hybrids through his own DNA, to launch his plan to rule the Earth, John Adams, through The Trust, created the Drudge through Prometheus' DNA. The DNA was used to create various kinds of Drudge, some resembling progenitors, some looking drastically different. The Drudge were initially used to have President Charles Thompson sign over executive control of the United States to Adams and combat Ford. Adams deployed the Drudge throughout the city of Washington, D.C. via conduits. Michael Ford would combat the Drudge in the Crisis of Washington, D.C. and find out how they were created in the Trust Base. At the base, Ford would destroy Prometheus' body to prevent the further creation of the Drudge. However, this shattered the Drudge's link with the Trust. Following the death of all humans in D.C. due to poisoning, only the Drudge were left. The Drudge then began fighting amongst each other in Washington, D.C. with some honouring the Destroyer Michael Ford, calling him the Liberator. These Free Drudge are likely capable of reproduction and have made their own culture and began to build their own city on the outskirts of D.C., while repairing the interior. When the Trust once again came to D.C., they began to fight both the Free Drudge and the Drudge still loyal to them due to the fact it was hard to identity which Drudge was on which side. When Michael Ford came to D.C. to find the progenitor co-ordinates, he helped the Free Drudge in taking over Washington D.C. Taking over D.C. supplied the Free Drudge with the equipment and knowledge necessary to make their own weapons and use Trust weapons. Outside of D.C., the Drudge still served the Trust and could be seen assisted them in China and Siberia. Free Drudge When Prometheus' body died, the Drudge lost their connection and loyalty to John Adams. While many Drudge chose to keep working for The Trust, many decided to work for themselves and they became the Free Drudge. The Free Drudge have created their own culture, language and society. They fight the Drudge and the Trust for control of Washington, D.C. and it is possible that they are building their own city around D.C. This is possibly to stop the threat of the Trust. It is also possible that if the Free Drudge gain control of D.C. they will rebuild the city to a different form of architecture, a Drudge form of architecture. The Free Drudge have their own bug-like language in which they communicate through clicks, much like a Predator and real life insects and arachnids. The Free Drudge are also speak English and are likely to speak the other National American Language, Spanish. Their culture is unknown but it likely involves Ford, Prometheus and John Adams/Enlil freeing them and they call him Liberator. The names they call themselves do not appear to be based off of human names as the first one Ford encounters is called Thex. It is possible that now they are free, the Drudge can reproduce. However, since the Drudge lifespan is not known, they might already be reproducing as they are still plenty. When entering Washington, D.C, Michael Ford sees the Drudge fighting each other, at first he does not understand this but states he likes it. Michael then sees a Trust Agent interrogating a Free Drudge who promptly calls Ford "Liberator". The Drudge then kills the Agent who is distracted after noticing Ford and explains to Ford that they choose not to work for the Trust. Breeds The Drones are the bulk of the Drudge army; the standard fighters. They have shiny golden-gray armor and always carry a Strike Rifle, the most common Drudge weapon in The Conduit. In Conduit 2 they also carry a slight more range of weapons such as SPAS 12, Hive Cannon etc. The drones got a makeover in the special edition version and were changed from dark red to the colors described above. The Drones in Conduit 2 have changed since the first game. They received a substantial visual overhaul, looking slightly more bug-like. The Drones are the standard foot soldier of the Drudge faction. They, like many other forms of the Drudge, come out of conduits and attack the player. They tend to attack in groups. If they feel overpowered, they will run and seek cover, then when you don't pay attention to them they attempt to find and shoot you while you are unaware. Near the end of The Conduit single-player mode, it is revealed by Prometheus that the Drones, along with every other Drudge alien are cloned from Prometheus' genetic model. The Drudge are mass produced inside the secret Trust Base in an unknown location. The Drones, among other Drudge, are sent to Washington, D.C. via conduits to fool citizens of an invasion. Scarabs are the most powerful group of The Drudge infantry, and second most powerful of all the Drudge, exceeded only by the massive, tank-like Invaders.[1] Standing approximately 8 feet tall, their extremely resistant exo-skeletons and rapid-fire, explosive-launching Hive Cannons make them far more powerful than any human infantry. Heavily armored, Scarabs can take more than a full magazine of weapons fire from most standard weapons before dying (it takes more than 32 shots from the Strike Rifle to kill a Scarab, compared to just 6 shots to kill a Drudge Drone). Scarabs come in four different varieties: the first Scarab encountered, the standard Scarab, the Storm Scarab, and the alternate Scarab seen in stasis in The Trust Base. The first Scarab encountered looks like the standard Scarab, except for its red color, and the fact that it doesn't carry a weapon. It only appears once, outside the White House. In the Game Statistics menu, it is labeled as a Storm Scarab since it doesn't appear to be carrying any weapon. The standard Scarabs are the most commonly seen Scarabs. They are silver-blue and carry a Hive Cannon. These emerge from conduits, and move rather slowly, stomping as they walk. Even though they're slow, the fully-automatic Hive Cannon makes them very dangerous. The Storm Scarab is a faster version of standard Scarabs. Most appear colored, gray and in cloaking form. They are semi-visible, transparent, and untangible. If the player shoots them from a distance, the shots will go through them. The ASE is required to make them completely visible and tangible. Instead of carrying firearms, they are unarmed and focus on charging the player for melee combat due to a testosterone-like chemical within their bodies. Storm Scarabs are a type of Drudge infantry. Unlike the standard Scarabs, most use cloaking devices, which make them partially invisible, and intangible. They cannot be killed in cloaked state, as the shots will go through their outlined body figure. With the help of the ASE, the player is able to reveal them, stunning them momentarily in the process. They also, unlike regular Scarabs, carry no weapons and instead run up to the player and use brute force by melee and close combat attacks. Storm Scarabs can be killed without the ASE, but it is hard to do so. They appear gray, and are able to run unlike standard Scarabs. Storm Scarabs first appear in the fifth mission of the campaign: Gridlock. The fourth version of the Scarab is a brown, less bulky version, with appendages on its shoulders and neck. These Scarabs, called [http://conduit.wikia.com/index.php?title=Royal_Scarab&action=edit&redlink=1 Royal Scarabs], are the creatures seen in stasis in the final mission Closure, in The Trust Base. Note that they are the closest drudge that resembles Prometheus. In the final mission, Michael Ford opens the stasis tubes to gain energy to open a conduit so he could exit the Trust Base. Every time he opens one of these tubes, these Scarabs are released. They carry a Hive Cannon, and walk the same speed as standard Scarabs. They seem to be able to survive noticeably more damage than the standard version, serving as the "final boss battle" of the game (on Severe difficulty, it takes more than 15 direct hits from the TPC Launcher or two full bursts from the Carbonizer Mk16 to kill one). Skimmers are a flying variation of the Drudge soldiers. They always carry a Shrieker. Some say that Skimmers are adult forms of Mites.[1] They are about the same size as Drones, but less bulky. The Skimmers were likely all created at the same time as every other Drudge. In the mission "Gridlock," you are introduced to Skimmers in a short cutscene. Prometheus informs you that they are searching for the President. They are then common throughout the rest of the game. In Conduit 2, Skimmers are only seen working for the Trust, it is unknown if any are part of the Free Drudge. Skimmers only use Shriekers to attack the player. Though they can be rather accurate if the player is standing still, they are very ineffective against moving targets, as Skimmers have a hard time guiding the biospheres. However in Conduit 2, their accuracy is greatly improved, hardly ever missing a shot even at the lowest difficult settings, capable of changing the direction of the shot with such precision and speed that they can even freeze the orb in mid air until they can redirect it towards Ford. Drones seem to have the same skill. Mites' '''are the smallest members of The Drudge. They are thought to be hatchlings and grow into the larger types, such as Drones, Scarabs, and Skimmers. The Mites can either come out of conduits, or egg sacs. There are four types of Mites. The first type are the Therm-Mites, which have spikes on their back, large claws, are reddish orange colored, and will roll up to the player and blow up. The second are Med-Mites. They are brownish blue, have pink spikes on their back, and they will will heal their allies. They wield a Warp Pistol. The Para-Mites could be described as "flying worms". They have no limbs, and use no weapons. Their only form of attack is poking the player. Finally, the Tear-Mites are a blue colored variation of Therm-Mites. They carry no weapons, and will try to slash the player. Afterwards, they wave their arms in the air and make a sound similar to a laugh. This later group of Mites have been redesigned in ''Conduit 2 and they look a bit different than in The Conduit. Therm-Mites are a type of Mites, who belong to the Drudge. They are very similar to Tear-Mites, in shape and size. They have the same spikes coming out of their back, the same long claws, but are a different color. Therm-Mites are red-orange, while Tear-Mites are blue. Therm-Mites usually emerge from egg sacs, and travel by rolling. When in close proximity with the player, these Mites will try to explode. When they do, their whole bodies are destroyed. The explosion can harm anything that is close to it. If the player manages to dodge the Therm-Mite, it will either keep looking for the player, or just explode. Using energy based weapons, they can be killed without making them explode. Therm-Mites also appear in Conduit 2' Invasion Mode, a loud scream from each one will signal their appereance, alerting players of their presence. Para-Mites are a type of Mites, who belong to the Drudge. They are smaller Mites that have the ability to fly. Unlike the rest of the Mites, Para-Mites don't have arms and legs. They have orange, worm-like bodies, with wings. Their only form of attack is ramming against the player. Like all Mites, they are weak, and can easily be killed--a single bullet will take it down. With this in mind, if you simply wave an automatic gun in all directions while firing, you can eliminate a swarm of Para-Mites with almost no effort at all. A form of Para-Mites are used as ammunition by the Hive Cannon, but these don't have the free will of the regular mites and will simply fly in a straight line, exploding on contact with surfaces. These version is also heavily attracted by a special pheromone produced by the cannon, sticking these substance to an enemy will make the Para-Mites instantly change direction towards its location. Tear-Mites are a type of Mites, who are a form of the Drudge. They emerge from egg sacs, and will not stop coming out until the sacs are destroyed. They are blue and have a large claw on each arm. Tear-Mites use no weapons and always run up to the player to try to slash him or her. A good strategy to kill them is to wait for them to approach you, and melee them. That way you won't use any ammo. This won't always work when there is a large number of Tear-Mites surrouding you though. Med-Mites are a type of Mites, who are a member of the Drudge. They have low health, but are able to heal their allies, and always carry a Warp Pistol. If they are around other enemies, especially if they are stronger than them, it is important to kill the Med-Mites before, so they don't heal their allies. Invaders are huge, tank-sized green or red spider-like creatures that are members of The Drudge. They appear several times during the game, the first in the sixth level (Invasion) but you can see one in the first level (Threshold) above a door after you climb through a train car. Four invaders are defeated in-game, two of which are destroyed at once in the middle of the level Homeland. Invaders assume the role of game bosses. Invaders have been spotted many times in trailers, usually bursting through a wall, rampaging on a bridge, or flipping over cars. Invaders are the toughest form of the Drudge. They are capable of firing twin projectiles that are similar to the Shrieker projectiles. They can also unleash a small swarm of Para-Mites. Two variations have been observed; a red, weaker kind and a stronger, green variation. Conduits The Drudge invade Washington D.C. through use of conduits. Conduits are portals that Drudge forces come out of. They are found on many missions. If the player does not destroy these conduits, more Drudge will keep emerging. The largest Conduit found in the game is seen in the first level and the eighth level, where a major battle pursues. Towards the end of The Conduit, it is discovered that the Drudge forces are being deployed through the conduits from The Trust's base of operations. Reproduction When Adams was still controlling the Drudge, he created them out of the DNA of Prometheus in the Trust Base. When Prometheus' body was destroyed with the Trust Base, Adam's lost his method of creating the Drudge and it seemed that he could not create any more Drudge. Many Drudge became the Free Drudge while many stayed working for the Trust. Since the Drudge are still plenty, it is possible that the Drudge are able to reproduce. While the reproduction status of Drudge infantry is unknown, it is known that Mites are able to create from which various Mites can emerge from. It is possible that Mites are part of the Free Drudge. Invaders have a similar feature with the ability to create Para-Mites, Invaders too may be a part of the Free Drudge. The Drudge tunnel system too is able to create nests from which Mites emerge. Due to having been deployed after D.C. was destroyed, the tunnel system and its Mites are loyal to the Trust. Category:Enemy Faction Category:Allied Faction